Kris Boyd has suggested that Scottish football needs to start being played in the summer in order to give teams like Celtic the best chance of success in Europe.
The Kilmarnock forward shared that he thought Scottish teams not playing in summer left them woefully unprepared to play in European tournaments such as the Champions League.
“Our game is doing nothing to help Celts and the rest compete against Europe’s elite,” said Boyd in his column for the Scottish Sun.
“So now’s the time to take drastic action to help our clubs, by switching to summer football.
“I don’t know when they’d do it and I don’t know how they’d do it, but they have to do it for the sake of Scottish football.
“What chance did our teams have when their players were just off the sun loungers in Magaluf and straight into huge Euro contests?
“Summer football would allow our teams perfect preparation for Europe and give them a real chance of making the group stages and restoring our reputation.”
Boyd stated that Celtic deserved plaudits simply for making it through the Champions League qualifiers under Brendan Rodgers when they had no competitive games under their belt.
Ireland and Sweden’s leagues both added summer football to its calendar and have since seen teams such as Shamrock Rovers and Ostersunds have more success in Europe.
The Kilmarnock forward added that while adding summer fixtures would help Celtic, it wouldn’t cause a Scottish team to instantly be able to win the Europa League.
“Celts look miles behind the best in Europe right now and we need to give them, and the rest of our clubs, a chance to compete on a level playing field.
“We’re never going to win the Europa League, but switching to summer will give us a chance to win some games, earn some more cash and prove our game’s not all washed up.”
OPINION
Boyd may be on to something with his suggestion that Scottish football needs to change, as clearly their best hope of success in Europe, Celtic, look miles away from featuring in the later stages of a tournament. The Hoops’ have a lot of talent in their side capable of playing at the highest level, but only when their players perform to their best. If a player is going into an important game, such as a Champions League qualifier, after weeks of being on the beach, then there’s no way he’ll be able to be fire on all cylinders. While it’s a major change for Scottish football to take, it’s probably for the best.